Update: We received this initial report from Paul Buschi's
friend Julie Lindsay: "Peagusus (UVA's Helicopter) medivaced Paul
to UVA. He got out of the UVA hospital last thursday [8/20], is doing
better, broke 3-4 ribs, punctured a lung, broke his wrist and may be
having further surgery [on his wrist] on thursday [8/27](yet to be
determined.)" We were then updated on August 26th with this
message: "Paul has a temporary cast on his right arm, and the
potential surgery is to determine whether or not he needs a pin and
screws in in right arm to stablize his wrist (which was a clean
break-a definite good thing in terms of healing). No nerves were
damaged in his arm as a result of the fall, also a good thing in terms
of recovery. He had a chest tube in his plural cavity to drain and
keep the lungs open so that they can reinflate. The tube has been
removed and his lungs are fully healed, aside from the bruising which
may cause some pain. He broke 4 ribs and those usually heal
themselves. He is out and about today and hoping to return to work
within the next day or so at Performance Bike Shop in Charlottesville."

Putting a little gnarly in the Gnarly North Fork right from the start

The Gnarly North Fork 40K mountain bike race was simple in design,
head Northwest out of the town of Franklin, climb to the top of North
Fork Mountain, ride North across the ridge, then drop down the
Northwest side of the mountain to the new Seneca Rocks Visitors
Center. So where does the word "Gnarly" come into play? Well, what
we didn't mention is that you start right out with a nasty creek
crossing and then a climb that is more typical of a mountain stage in
the Tour de France than a WV mountain bike race. So, if over 2000
feet of climbing right up a mountain on gravel roads and switch back
laden paved highway doesn't blast your legs, how about some brutal
single-track? After a mere 10 or so miles of non-stop climbing, you
are sent right into rock and root filled trails for another 10. Now
that you are sufficiently drained how about a four mile down hill that
drops you back down those 2000 feet you gained earlier? Throw in a
little rain, and an incredibly steep single-track finish, and "Gnarly"
is an understatement.

Just another 2000 foot climb up a mountain in WV

At half-past-noon, under skies that threatened rain at any moment, the
mass of riders rolled out of Franklin, but the riding didn't last
long. Just out of town, the racers were sent off a gravel road into a
patch of thistle. This was far from an obvious route and you would
have never known it was part of the race course if it were not for the
orange streamers. After slight confusion, the riders dismounted,
threw their bikes on their shoulders, and trudged into the brush. It
quickly opened up into a wide, shallow creek crossing that consisted
of large, smoothly rounded rocks. Riding across was not an option.
Once across, the riders were able to re-mount their bikes, ride off
through a cow pasture, and back onto more gravel roads to begin the
relentless climbing. Climb, climb, climb... that just about sums it
up for the next hour or so of riding.

Riders head down the rock strewn North Fork Trail

After the riders finished their lung busting hill climb at the fog
covered top of Rt. 33, it was time to head off the pavement and into
the woods. (A special thanks to the group of riders, who momentarily
put their racing aside to stop and assist an injured motorist who had
suffered facial burns from an overheated car.) Following a narrow
single-track along the mountain ridge, the trail slowly crept higher up
towards Seneca Rocks. While the trail would normally offer a nice view
at points, there was no time to sightsee while trying to navigate the
difficult terrain and look for suitable passing lanes (which were few
and far between). Even if you wanted to catch a glimpse of the valley
below a mist/rain hung over the area which limited visibility to less
than one hundred yards at times. After passing over approximately 2
miles of single-track bordered by tall vegetation, the racers
encountered a challenging rock garden which slowed down even the most
skilled riders. At the end of the garden, many cyclists could be
spotted off to the side of the trail repairing flattened tires,
desperately trying to get back in the race.

Jonathan Martin concentrates in less than ideal conditions on top of the mountain

A short distance beyond the rock gardens the course changed to a
double track and made a slight descent where many decided to pick up
some speed. Unknown to most, as the path carried down the incline, the
going got a lot tougher than it appeared. Under a carpet of green and
brown lay many small but jagged rocks which would toss unwary riders
around like spit on a griddle. Paul Buschi, leading the race at the
time, encountered this section and literally stopped the race. Paul
was thrown from his bike at high speed. While the subject of the wreck
could not be reached for comment, it is safe to say that it was a
nasty (or should we say gnarly) fall by any means. Luckily, the
wreck occurred in a somewhat accessible point on the trail where
volunteers were able to get a pickup truck with a backboard (which had
been standing by) and oxygen tank to the scene. At this point the race
became secondary to the safety of the injured rider. More than enough
assistance was offered by the stopped racers who helped administer
first-aid, place Paul on the stretcher and load him into the back of
the truck.

The treacherous downhill was even more challenging in a steady rain

Dave McKain, with WVOutside, arrived on the scene after the crash,
wondering why everyone (about 50 riders by then) were stopped on the
trail. Since he wasn't racing, he decided that he should lend some
assistance to the race volunteers in getting Paul down the mountain
and let the rest of the field continue with the day's task. At the
time of the writing of this article, we haven't been able to get
updates on Paul's status (anyone who has further info please contact us - a lot of
people are concerned). It is positive to note that Paul kept on
talking all the way to the ambulance and seemed fine with the
exception of being a little on the thirsty side (you're not supposed
to give an injured person too much water but what if he just rode his
bike up an extremely long hill?) and definitely feeling the results of
the impact. His brain bucket took a beating, which probably saved him
certain critical damage, while it appeared that he sustained a big hit
all along his right side and maybe broke some ribs.

The downhill is about to claim another victim in Dale Blankenship

What was to become of the race now that it had been literally stopped
in its tracks for the last 20 minutes or more? Many of the riders had
now conglomerated in a large crowd with no one having yet passed
beyond the scene of the misfortunate accident. Mountain bikers, being
the great group of folks that they are, took it upon themselves to
restart the racing in a relatively fair and democratic fashion. Most
classes of riders used a staggered restart for the racers within their
class using what was basically an honor system. Based on a best guess
of how they were spaced when they arrived at this point, they allowed
the riders in front of them a head-start, then resumed racing in turn
when they felt it was appropriate.

As the racers battled down the remainder of the course, in what soon
turned into a steady rain, Kyle Dixon (2:40:41), Chris Eatough
(2:41:57), and Gunnar Shogren (2:42:39), who had restarted in that
order, finished one, two, and three at Seneca Rocks. In the women's
competition, the first three to drop down the suicidal single track
off North Fork Mountain to the finish were Sue Haywood (2:53:38),
Melissa Showman (2:58:06), and Christine Nicholson (3:20:20).

All said and done, the rather strange circumstances that surrounded
the day's race, coupled with the fog, drizzle and rain, and the brutal
and varied terrain, certainly this race more than lived up to its
"Gnarly" billing.

More Ramblings from Dave McKain:

After helping take Paul to seek emergency medical attention, I can
only offer personal reflections on the race and the course. This due
to the fact that after getting him into the ambulance and returning to
the trail to see what had happened, everyone decided to restart the
race leaving little old me, seemingly alone on the top of the ridge
with the rain starting to come down a little more seriously, and about
12 miles of gnarly, solo riding ahead. Luckily, after passing a few
riders who decided to bag early and head back on the pavement, I ran
into a young rider who was slightly bonked from the earlier hill
climb. To hell with the rules on outside assistance, I offered him
some crushed up frosted brown sugar pop tarts and M&M's for which he
thanked me. After a few minutes we hit the trail, basically trying to
finish out the ride. While I wasn't able to take many more pictures I
did get to have a fun ride. The most demoralizing part of the ride was
having to climb up the last hill before reaching the muddy/rooty/nasty
singletrack leading down to the gravel road and the finish line. I
definitely got myself and my bike dirtier than they had ever been
(Halleluia for the relatively warm stream close to the finish). By the
time I reached the awards table everyone was packing up but thankfully
there was still some grub and beverages left over.

Having a biker get seriously injured definitely brought home that while
the race may seem pretty darned important at the time, most participants
knew that it was much more important to make sure the injured rider was
being taken care of before heading back down the trail. I'm glad that
everyone was able to keep things in perspective.